PFP enters 29th Assembly District race

Peace and Freedom Party member John Crockford has filed papers with the California Secretary of State declaring his intention to run for the 29th District State Assembly seat currently held by Republican Mike Villines. As part of a state-wide slate of Peace and Freedom Party candidates preparing to run in the 2006 elections, Crockford says he is considering entering the race to be "a voice for working people" in a crowded arena of "swindlers and charlatans."

Crockford is no stranger to local politics. In 2004, he ran against Villines and Democrat Mike Macias in the 29th Assembly District race as a Green Party candidate. The day after that election, he joined the Peace and Freedom Party and soon after became a candidate for a seat on the Clovis City Council. In that election, one out of every five ballots contained a vote for Crockford, an unabashed socialist whose populist campaign showed remarkable results despite its organizational shortcomings.

"This is only a notification to the Secretary of State that I intend to run," said Crockford. "My final decision will be based upon what kind of financial support I can garner between now and the end of the year. If I can at least cover the expenses of filing as a candidate and the publication of a statement in the Sample Ballot, I will run."

Republican incumbent Mike Villines has already raised more than $175,000.00 towards his 2006 campaign and has spent more than $84,000.00. Crockford thinks this is irrelevant to his campaign. "The amount of money that a candidate has in his or her campaign account only matters to the Republicans and Democrats who have to buy their way into political office," he explained.

The opportunity is there and the outlook is good.

Bolstered by the founding of the Peace and Freedom Party in Fresno County last November and in Madera County this week, John Crockford believes it is important to seize the opportunity arising from a growing awareness of the injustices against those who labor. He sees the Peace and Freedom Party as the political vehicle for the kind of change that will secure for those who labor the wealth that their labor produces. He sees his campaign as an opportunity to present a "case for a revolutionary change in the distribution of wealth and the means through which the people can vote for this kind of change."